Rosary
by Droom
Summary: Mark,Bell and Sebastiaan have been placed under custody from Antonio. The reason: they have left the catholic church and joined the protestant one. Characters are persons, no countries. Not historical accurate but loosely based on the 80 years war. Opinions in the story aren't the opinions of the writer.
1. Chapter 1 A new beginning

My first fanfic ever, so I would love to get reviews about it. If the grammer isn't correct, I'm sorry, I'm not a native English speaker.

It was in the middle of the night when Mark was woken by a crashing sound downstairs. ''What…'' he mumbled, getting out of his bed and on his feet, feeling the cold floor underneath.

The sky outside was still dark, it had to be somewhere around midnight. Mark turned the key in the lock, wanting to know what or who made that noise.

When he opened the door, about 10 men were standing in the hall, maybe more maybe less but they were barely visible in the dark, talking to each other in a not understandable language.

That was not what Mark was exspecting. ''What…? What are you doing here?'' he asked confused and still a bit sleepy. ''Aah, that must be the eldest'' a voice said with a slight Southern accent.

''Get his sister and brother then we can go'' When Mark was realizing this wasn't a dream, he got angry. ''Who are you and what are you doing in my house?'' he asked irritated.

One of the figures moved and started talking. ''I'm Antonio and we are taking you and your siblings under custody'' Mark stared at the man, puzzled. ''Why?'' he asked, frowning.

''You aren't really quick-witted, are you?'' the man asked grinning. At that moment, his sister Bell and his little brother Sebastiaan were taken into the hallway.

Sebastiaan looked scared and was hiding behind the skirt of his sister, holding the cloth tightly. Tears ran down from the young boys face, he had to be really scared of the strangers in their house in the middle of the night.

Sebastiaan was only six years old, 10 years younger than Holland was. When Mark looked at Bell, he could see that she also was on the brink of starting to cry, trying not to because it would only make their little brother panic even more.

''Here they are'' one of the other figures said. ''Okey, let's go then'' the man, who said his name was Antonio, replied. Mark felt a hand in his back, pushing him towards the door.

He didn't realize what was happing until he heared the door of the carriage being locked behind him.

When he heared coins being thrown into a treasure chest, Mark shouted angrily. ''Hey! That's our money! You can't just steal that from us!''

Some muttering sounded outside of the carriage. ''Consider it as payment for me taking care of you'' Mark didn't understand what the man was talking about. Bell tried desperately to calm Sebastiaan down, who was still crying.

Suddenly the carriage started moving, Mark tripped and fell on a red velvet bench in the carriage. The carriage was shaking heavily as they rode away from their house.

Mark looked out of a tiny window in the wooden door. He could see they were moving away from their house, their home.

Where they had lived with their father and brothers. They had left the house to go to war and promised that they would be back in a few months.

That was two years ago and every day the hope for their return slightly faded away.

Why was Antonio talking about taking custody of them? Mark was perfectly capable of doing it himself, he had taken care of his younger siblings since his brothers and father left.

There had been rumours in the village, children of protestant families in other towns were taken away and placed under custody of a catholic.

But that was in cities, it wouldn't happen in a small village like here, would it?

Sebastiaan had fallen asleep on Bells lap, his eyes red from crying. Bell was stroking his hair, looking a bit shocked of what just happened.

''Mark…'' she whispered softly. Holland looked up to her. ''Where are we going?'' she asked, her voice still soft and a bit hoarse. ''I don't know…'' he replied, trying to sound calm.

Mark had absolutely no idea where they were going. The only thing he knew for sure that he and his siblings would stay together, not matter what.

He would do anything to stay with them.

Mark didn't know how long they were driving, but the carriage suddenly stopped. Bell also had fallen asleep, Mark woke them both up by softly shaking their shoulders.

The door opened, Mark blinked against the bright sunlight when Antonio appeared smiling in the doorframe. The drive must have for hours, because the sun was already up.

''Where are we?'' he asked, slightly confused, trying to look next to Antonio, seeing a huge country seat. It was much bigger than their own home. ''Well, let's go'' Antonio said to them and moved out of the way.

Mark looked at his siblings, Sebastiaan seemed to have calmed down a bit, but still held on to Bells hand tightly, scared to let her go.

He slowly got up and stepped out of the carriage, shortly followed by them.

The inside of the country seat was as richly decorated as the outside. A chandelier, with a few diamonds, was hanging from the ceiling.

When Mark looked into the hallway, he could see a long row of portraits. Sebastiaans mouth was hanging open a bit, staring at the richness surrounding him.

Antonio smiled when he saw them looking at the house. ''You will get used to it, after a few weeks'' he grinned. Mark woke up roughly from his daydream, glancing at Antonio. ''But we're not going to be here for a few weeks! We're going right now!'' he said while grabbing the hands of his younger sister and brother.

He was now fully awake and aware that they weren't at home anymore, nor this being a nightmare. ''Wrong'' Antonio said smiling. ''You're staying here, I'm your guardian now.''

Mark frowned and glared at him. ''What do you mean, /guardian/?'' he snarled. ''Your guardian, I'm going to take care of you guys now. You couldn't live in that shack by yourselves. You even left the catholic church!'' he said.

Bell and Sebastiaan were hiding behind Marks back, afraid of all the new things they were seeing, not knowing what to exspect. ''Yes, we did. The catholic church is just a bunch of thieves, murderers and scroungers. The protestant church on the other side, is…''

Mark couldn't finish his sentence, a flat hand made contact with the side of his head, leaving a red mark on his cheek. ''You will not /dare/ to speak of the catholic church like that /ever/ again'' the man said furious, glaring at Mark.

The teen put a hand on his cheek, looking a bit surprised of this sudden outrage of the man. ''Are you…are you a catholic?'' he asked.

Antonio nodded. ''Of course I am a good catholic. Why would I otherwise become the guardian of some heretic kids?'' Mark scowled at him but kept silent.

''What's a he…retic?'' Sebastiaan asked finally, breaking the quietness. Bell and Mark looked both at him, making clear that he should stay quiet with one look.

Sebastiaan already regretted he asked the question. But Antonio grinned and answered. ''You are and so are your brother and sister. It means that you aren't believing in God anymore''

Mark snapped. ''That's not true! We believe in God but not in that money spilling w…'' Antonio glared at him, raising his hand again. Mark held his tongue, his lips became a thin line.

Although he didn't speak anymore, his eyes were even more clear about what he was thinking. Antonio smiled lightly, let down his hand and continued his story.

''Well… you are going to stay in this house and do some chores. In return, I will /try/ to save you from hell. Although I'm not totally sure I will succeed for all three of you'' he said while shortly looking at Mark.

''But, let me first show you to your room'' the man said, while turning around and heading to one of the doors in the long hallway. Mark followed, looking at the frontdoor.

''And before I forget, you won't be able to escape here'' Antonio said when he noticed the teen looking at the door. ''The guards will catch you before you even reach the gate''

Mark grumbled something back, but continued looking out for ways to escape. He didn't want to stay here a minute longer, he would take Bell and Sebastiaan with him as soon as he found a way to escape.

Antonio opened a door and showed them the room. There were three beds in it and a drawer. On the drawer, three rosaries were put down. At the back of the room on the wall there was a cross.

''I am Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. What are your names?'' the southern man asked. It was quiet for a few moments until Bell started talking. ''My name is Bell, my younger brother is called Sebastiaan and his name is Mark''

Antonio frowned while trying to pronounce their names, unsuccessfully. Finally, he gave up. ''Well, from now on, your name is Bella'' he said smiling at Bell. ''Your name will be Sebastièn and your name Marcos''

Before they could react, Antonio walked out of the room. ''Lunch will be ready in about 30 minutes, you better get dressed, clothes are in the drawer'' before shutting the door.

''Rodriguez will show you to the diningroom, he's just outside of the room'' his voice sounded muted through the door. The sound of footsteps in the hallway died away.

Mark opened the door and faced a guard, Rodriguez. The Spanish man opened his mouth to say something but Mark slammed the door in his face. He sighed while turning around. Bell opened the drawer, grabbing a blue dress and holding it infront of her.

He scowled at her. ''What? You saw it yourself, this house is surrounded with guards, we can't go away here!'' she defended herself. Mark sniffed contemptoulousy.

Bell put on the dress and dressed her little brother. She also took some clothes for her older brother out of the drawer, while Sebastiaan was exploring the room.

''This room is boring…'' he decided, after looking under every bed for toys.

Someone knocked on the door. ''Are you ready?'' Rodriguez asked, with a heavy accent. Mark quickly put on the new clothes and opened the door, looking down on the guard with anger.

''There you are, follow me'' the man said, ignoring Mark's angry look. The four walked down the hallway, at the end a wooden door was opened. The dining room was big and the table was full of all kinds of food. Bread, milk, meat, cheese and lots more.

Antonio was already sitting at the head of table, pointing them to their seats. Bell put Sebastiaan on her lap, the kid was still a bit scared of the Spaniard. ''We are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves. We don't need a guardian'' Mark snarled at Antonio.

The man smiled and ignored his words, again pointing at a chair. With his arms crossed, Mark sat down.

''Now you are living in my house and under my custody, we got some rules. First of them, no fighting, cursing or stealing. Second, you will go to church every Sunday. For the next weeks you will stay inside unless I give permission. You will not leave your room after 9 in the evening and you will not go out until 6 in the morning. You will /not/ insult the catholic church in /any/ possible way'' Antonio shortly looked at the eldest of them.

''And most important of all: you will leave the protestant church and rejoin the catholic one''

Mark had been staring at the wood of the table, following the lines with his eyes, until he heared the last rule. ''None of us will rejoin the catholics!'' he said firm, with a determined look on his face.

Antonio glanced at him, a bit disturbed in his sermon. ''Yes you will… you will go to the catholic church and become a good Christian once again. If you follow the protestant church you and your brother and sister will burn in hell. Do you want that?'' Antonio asked slightly irritated.

Sebastiaan started crying. ''I don't want to go to hell!'' he said sniffing, while tears ran down his face, hiding in Bell's arms.

''Are you happy now? You're scaring him'' Mark snarled at Antonio, while getting up from his chair to calm his little brother down. ''Hush…hush… you won't go to hell'' When Sebastiaan calmed down, although still softly sniffing, Antonio continued, this time a bit more careful picking his words.

''As I said, you will go to the catholic church on Sunday from now on. You already saw the rosaries in your room? If you don't want to go to hell, you better take those to church, then maybe you can get rid of your sins. Just confess your sins, pray a few rosaries and you're save from the hellfire''

Sebastiaan seemed relieved by this news and stopped sniffing, although Mark wanted to disagree with Antonio. But for the sake of his little brother, and his own night rest, he would better keep quiet.

Mark closed his eyes and prayed in silence before grabbing some bread to eat.

After they finished breakfast, Antonio spoke up ''And for today, Bella you will help our maid today with the laundry. Sebastièn can stay with you.'' Bell put Sebastiaan on the floor and took his hand, walking towards the door.

'Wait a second!'' Mark said irritated. Bell stood still and looked at her brother. ''They are not going to work, Bell is too young to work, there are so many things that could go wrong! Sebastiaan can easily get burned with that hot water! I won't let them!'' Mark said to Antonio.

''Mark… I'm not 7 anymore, I'm 15! I'm careful enough'' Bell replied. The Spaniard smiled. ''Indeed, she's old enough to be carefull, si? And for you Marcos, you will work today with Miguel, he's too old to do it all by himself''

Mark opened his mouth to protest but a glance of Antonio was enough to silence him.

''You don't want to start a fight with me the first day, do you? I'm still you guardian'' the Spaniard said, while getting up from the table and softly pushing Bell and Sebastiaan to the kitchen.

A old man, about 60 years old, appeared in the doorframe of the gardendoor. ''Marcos?'' he asked. Mark nodded and looked at the man.

At first, Mark thought about refusing to do anything, but now he saw the man, he couldn't let him do all the work by himself. He walked towards the door.

The garden was enormous, surrounded by a high white wall. In the middle, there was a paved square with a few benches on the sides. Lots of flowers gave the garden some color.

Carnations, lily's and roses. In the left of the garden, there stood a willow above a pool with koi fishes with spotted patterns. Antonio had to be very rich, Mark thought when he saw this.

Miguel smiled and walked to the end of the garden, to a hedge. The garden behind the hedge was totally different, no colourfull plants or benches. Just a few small crop fields, but still bigger than those at his own house.

There were also a few unknown vegetables and fruits, they looked nothing like cabbages or apples which Mark had known for all his life. ''The tares between the plants must be removed'' Miguel said, while handing him a bag.

''When the bag is full, you can empty it in that barrel'' while pointing at a wooden tun in the back, next to a wooden shack.

Mark nodded and walked to a crop field with strange plants, with red round fruit. He plucked the weed between the plants, putting it in the bag.

After a few hours, the crop fields were again free from tares. Mark wiped the sweat of his forehead, looking up at the sun. It was hot, probably after noon already. Miguel had sat down on a few crates in the shadow of the shack, gesturing to Mark for him to join him.

He sat down, leaning with his back against the wall. It was quiet for a few moments until Miguel started talking. '' If you accept that you live here now, it will be much easier'' He felt the anger coming back, biting his tongue until it started to bleed.

''I won't… We want to go home, he has no right to keep us here'' he said, a bit more angry than he wanted to, it wasn't Miguels fault. The old man sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back.

''Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. That's not what matters right now. The only thing is, you are here. And Antonio is determined to turn your sister, brother and you into catholics. He thinks it's the only thing that can help him gain respect from his father.''

Mark grinned softly. ''Is he really that insecure that he needs approval of his father of everything he does?'' A cloud covered the sun, making the garden much more dark. The pond with the willow looked gloomy, with branches hanging over the water.

Miguel again opened his eyes, looking at Mark. ''Antonio isn't that old yet, maybe two or three years older than you. And his father isn't quickly satisfied. '' Mark grumbled something inaudible back.

Miguel sighed when he noticed the teen refused to listen what he was saying, before getting up. ''Let's finish this before dinner'' he said, tossing the bag to Mark and walking towards one of the fields.

The teen pushed himself of the crates, continuing his work. Mark was used to working hard, but not under the burning sun. He felt like he was melting, when he looked at Miguel, it seemed like the old man didn't even notice the heat. It was a mystery, how the plants survived this sun.

After a few hours, which seemed much longer than the hours before midday, Miguel signed to Mark that they were done for today. Mark emptied the bag in the barrel, before hanging it in the shack. He had been thinking about what Miguel said to him.

Mark didn't really care about Antonio wanting to gain respect from his father but he now knew the reason.

And also that Antonio wasn't going to give up real easy. Being stubborn enough so he would sent them home was not going to work.

They had to escape. Otherwise they would never leave here. Just wait until the moment was there and run away. He hoped that his little brother and sister were strong enough to resist Catholicism until that moment.

It would be difficult, that for sure. Catholics cared a lot about appearance of their churches and houses, Mark knew his siblings would be drawn to that. He could only hope that they realized that behind that appearance there was nothing.

Inside of the house, it was much cooler. Antonio was reading a book in a room which seemed like a library. ''Aah, there you are Marcos!'' he said, while putting the book down and coming towards Mark. ''My name is Mark, not Marcos'' he replied irritated.

Antonio frowned, his mood becoming darker. ''New life, new name…Marcos'' he said, his voice much less cheerfully than before. Antonio turned around, gesturing to someone in the library. A kid, no older than 14 walked into the hallway, looking at Mark in disdain.

''This is Romano, my cousin'' Antonio introduced the kid to Mark. ''He lives here. Romano, this is Marcos'' Romano scowled at the much bigger Mark. ''Bastardo…'' he scolded at him.

Mark looked down at him, already starting to get irritated because of the kids behavior. ''Why is that bastard here?'' Romano asked Antonio, a frown on his face.

''This is one of the heretics who will live with us'' Antonio said. Mark glared at Antonio. ''I've told you before, I'm not a heretics and Sebastiaan and Bell aren't either!'' he said with a icecold voice. Antonio grinned, ignoring his words.

Romano walked away, towards the kitchen, mumbling something about tomatoes ''Be nice to him…'' Antonio warned Mark, glaring at him. ''Or otherwise…''


	2. Chapter 2 Praying a Rosary

(possibly the last chapter of this week, maybe tomorrow but otherwise next Saturday)

He turned around, pulling the blanket just beneath his chin. Mark was still sleeping deeply, dreaming about the return of his brothers and father. In his dream, he saw them through the window, walking towards the front door. He had wait that long for this day to come.

The sound of knocking on the wood, Mark walked towards the door. But while walking, he was slowly getting aware that the knocking wasn't in his dream but in the real world. Mark frowned, hoping he would fall asleep again, he wanted to continue his dream.

But the knocking became louder and impatient. ''Wake up! It's Sunday!'' Mark grumbled and pulled his pillow over his head. ''Go away'' he mumbled.

The door of his room opened, seconds before someone was roughly shaking his shoulder. ''Get up, it's Sunday'' the voice said again, while pulling the pillow away.

Bright light made it impossible for Mark to see anything, blinking against it. ''No…'' he said irritated, trying to grab it back. ''I'm not going to church'' Antonio sighed deeply, trying to maintain his calmness.

''If you don't go to church, you will not be getting any breakfast'' The other two persons in the room were already woken up because of the knocking, getting up from their beds.

Mark grumbled something back, the content not really nice, but he did get up from his bed. Antonio walked towards the door.

''Hurry, thirty minutes we will leave for church and you also got to eat before we go'' the door closed, there were some Spanish talking to Rodriguez before it was quiet again.

Mark got dressed and trudged through the hallway, the expression on his face clearly showing what he was thinking about going to a catholic church at this hour. Romano was already having dinner, immediately scowling at Mark when he entered the room.

Instead of Mark glancing back, he started grinning. Romano was wearing a dress, a red one with a white dress over it. ''Goodmorning, /miss/'' he said to him, teasingly with a smile on his face.

The emphasis was clearly on the last word. Romanos face got red, like a cherry. '' Damn it!'' he shouted furious, hitting his fists on the table. ''Shut up, patata bastard!''

But even cursing at Mark didn't stop him from laughing. Antonio entered the room with a troubled look. ''Don't curse on the day of the Lord, Romano'' he admonished him, before turning to Mark.

''It isn't a dress, it's a alb. Romano is one of the altar servers. It's a great honor'' Mark sat down at the table, doing a short prayer before grabbing some bread.

''I don't know if wearing a /dress/ is that kind of a honor to me'' he grinned. Romano again opened his mouth to insult him but a meaningful look of Antonio stopped him.

''Marcos, we are going to a church. Not to a homeless convention.'' Antonio commented on Mark looks. ''Comb your hair before we're going'' the smile disappeared of Marks face and he stared at the food.

Romano grinned and continued his breakfast. After a few minutes, Bell and Sebastiaan entered the room to get something before they would leave. There wasn't much time left for them to eat.

The church was beautiful, even Mark had to admit that. It was richly decorated with gold and silver, the smell of frankincense in the air.

The preacher was reading from the bible and talked about honesty and trust. It seemed something like the protestant church, most differences were in appearance. But Mark wasn't going to join the catholic church, he wasn't going to abandon his faith that easily.

Mark crossed his arms and waited for the end of church. Finally, the end prayer started. He saw that Romano wasn't happy with staying here either, putting his weight on one feet to the other one.

The boy was standing in front of the church, many meters away from Mark, next to the preacher. The last prayer ended and everyone got up from their benches.

When Mark headed to the big doors to leave the church, Antonio grabbed his arm. ''Not so quick, first this'' he said while looking at the confessional.

''In those years in which you haven't been going to the catholic church, you have probably done lots of things you should ask forgiveness for'' he said. Mark frowned, jerking his arm out of Antonio's grip.

''I regret /nothing/'' he snarled softly to him. ''You can't just confess your sins, pray a bit and then be freed of your sins, that's nonsense'' Antonio opened his mouth to react on this, but closed it again when he saw that it would be useless.

Mark wasn't going to be convinced, at least not today. Antonio sighed and let go of Mark, before walking to the doors. Mark smiled, this battle he had won.

Just a few more and the war would be won too. Then Antonio would let them go home.

When they arrived at the country seat, Mark first went to his room to change clothing. These clothes weren't very comfortable.

He rummaged through the drawer until he found some suitable clothing. Some noise was just outside of the room. He quickly put on the new shirt before opening the door, to find Sebastiaan, lying on his stomach, playing with some toy soldiers.

''Where did you get those?'' Mark asked frowning, they didn't had the time yesterday to get anything from their old house. ''Antonio gave me them'' Sebastiaan replied, not even looking up from his play.

Mark frowned and walked towards the library where Antonio was yesterday. He was there again, reading the same book. ''What are you trying to do?'' Mark asked irritated.

Antonio finished the page in his book, taking his time, before looking up. ''What do you mean, Marcos?'' he replied, smiling lightly.

''Don't try to fool me!'' Mark snarled back, while walking into the library. ''You're trying to bribe Sebastiaan!''

Antonio put down his book. ''/Sebastièn/ asked for something to play with and I gave those toy soldiers to him. Is there a problem?''

Mark frowned, Antonio was clearly not getting the point. ''Don't think that I don't know what you're trying to do'' he warned Antonio before again walking out, even more irritated than before.

It wasn't just giving some toys to Sebastiaan, it was trying to convince in him in becoming a catholic instead of a protestant. In the hallway, Sebastiaan was still playing with his new toys, it seemed like he didn't even notice what just happened.

He smiled at Mark and asked if he wanted to play with him. Mark ignored the boy and walked straight towards the garden, on the brink of becoming furious.

He had to prevent that, he had to stay calm so that he could think before doing anything.

Mark paced up and down in the garden, angry. It was Sunday so Miguel wasn't here. The last past days, Mark had been working with the old man.

And he had been the only one who kept him from bursting out in anger and doing stupid things. Mark was thinking in rage, they had to get out of here.

Sebastiaan was already starting to become a catholic, he was the only one who actually paid attention in the church and believed what the preacher was saying.

The kid didn't understand that Antonio was a bad guy and the catholic church was stealing from the poor people. Mark looked through the garden, there had to be a possible escape! Then he saw the shack in the back of the garden.

When the barrel with weeds from the garden was full, it got emptied. And for that you had to stand on the roof of the shack and throw it over the wall that surrounded the country seat.

On the other side, there was a pile of all kinds of garden garbage. It would mean that Bell and Sebastiaan didn't have to jump from that height and that they could easily cross the wall.

Mark looked around him, making sure no one was looking. He walked towards the shack, climbing up the crates and pulling himself on top of the roof.

Because it was Sunday, the guards would probably have a day off. Mark would first check if it was safe and where they could hide before he would get his siblings.

With carefull steps, he walked over the roof, towards the wall. He just had to make sure that he would be back for dinner, so Antonio wouldn't notice.

For the last time, he looked behind him, making sure that it would be save. After that, he jumped of the wall, into the pile. It smelled awful but it was a lot safer than just jumping of the wall without anything down there.

Mark was finally out, he looked around and quickly paced towards the forest close by. There, he could surely found a place to hide for a few days.

After a few hours, Mark walked back towards the country seat, in time for dinner. He was sure he went unnoticed.

His feet sank deeply in the green rubbish, grabbing the edge of the wall and pulling himself up to the shack. Mark had found a place to hide, a old hunters cottage in the middle of the forest.

No one would be looking for them over there. There even was a small brook that could provide them with water. He easily jumped of the shack, letting his knees bent so he wouldn't break his legs and looked up when he saw shadows on the ground.

His blood ran icecold when he saw who they were. Antonio and a few guards, all looking furious. ''You didn't seriously thought that you could escape that easily, did you?'' Antonio yelled at him, while kicking him in the stomach, so Mark fell on the ground on his back, gasping for air.

He glared at Antonio, in his eyes a mix of surprise, pain, fear and anger. ''I told you /not/ to run away. And what do you do?'' Antonio shouted in fury.

Mark didn't answer, still thinking how Antonio found out about his escape that quickly. ''Take him away. And make sure that he will never again try to escape this house'' Antonio said, while turning around and walking back to the house.

Two guards grabbed Marks arms and pulled him inside of the shack. Before the door shut, he saw Antonio looking back over his shoulder, a pityful look on his face.

His world was black, totally black. Softly moaning, Mark opened his eyes, only to see the soft light from a sunset through the window in the shack, blinking a few times.

He didn't move, it hurt too much. After Antonio found out about his escape, the guards hadn't been really nice to Mark, angry because they had been called by Antonio on their only free day in the week. First, they had to find him, for hours they had searched the town.

When they came back, to tell Antonio that they hadn't found Mark, the teen just came back. Antonio wouldn't be happy about that. They would have their revenge on Mark.

With sticks and bars they had beaten him until Mark couldn't get off the ground anymore. Then they had left the shack, leaving Mark alone.

Mark tried to move as less as possible but did move his arm, slowly ofcourse. Although there wasn't much light, he could see the purple bruises on his arm.

His whole body felt like he had just ran a marathon, pain everywhere. Mark felt something sticky at the back of his head. One of the last blows hit him there, just before he blacked out.

He put his hand against it, before looking at his fingers. A dark red liquid could be seen, blood. Mark needed a few more seconds to figure that out for himself, before putting his hand down at the floor again.

He hadn't thought that Antonio would go that far to keep them here. The sun disappeared behind some dark clouds, making it dark again. Mark couldn't get up to get to the house, so he just stayed where he was.

Mark didn't have much energy left and was slowly falling asleep. He had to find a other way too escape, because this one wasn't going to work the next time, Antonio now knew of this escape route.

Mark was glad that he didn't immediately brought Sebastiaan and Bell with him, now they were safe. His eyes closed and quickly he fell asleep, too tired to do anything else.

The birds in the garden didn't wake him up in the morning, neither did the footsteps on the gravel. ''Meu deus!'' Miguel said in shock when he opened the door of the shack, seeing Mark on the floor, making a cross.

''What happened?'' he asked, while crouching down next to him. He woke up, looking at Miguel. ''An…tonio'' he managed to say. Miguel got up and left the shack, shortly after returning with a bucket of water and a piece of cloth.

He soaked the cloth in the water and gently cleaned the wounds of Mark. Every time the cloth touched his wounds, Mark flinched lightly. ''Did they break anything?'' Miguel asked worried.

Mark moved his limbs, feeling muscle ache everywhere, but able to move everything. ''No, nothing is broken'' he answered, before starting to cough. Mark pushed himself with his arm a bit of the ground to get some more air, coughing up a bit of blood.

He gasped in pain, every breath hurt like hell. ''Filho d'um corno…''Miguel mumbled, cursing at Antonio before again getting up and walking out of the shack.

Mark tried to sit up, wiping the blood away from his mouth. He leaned against the wall, moaning softly. Suddenly, outside was a loudly brawl.

''Have you gone mad?'' he could hear Miguel yelling. Someone was shouting back, but too soft to be understandable. ''I don't care if your father would have done the same thing! /You/ almost killed him!'' Miguel replied furious.

Antonio yelled back, but clearly disencouraged. ''No, he didn't! What would you have done if the same thing happened to you?'' The voice of Antonio was becoming softer.

''They are your responsibility. What are you going to tell the church if you have killed them?'' Miguel shouted before he paced back to the shack, clearly angry at Antonio.

Mark looked up at him. ''Why did you try to escape?'' Miguel snapped at Mark. The teen didn't expect that Miguel would be angry at him. ''Bec..cause I couldn't s…stay here any longer'' Mark stuttered confused.

''You should have known that Antonio would find you, it was obvious!'' Miguel snarled, while ripping a old shirt in the shack to long pieces and putting them on the wounds.

Mark kept quiet, although Miguel was a bit too rough with binding the pieces of cloth around his wounds. ''You should have known better'' he admonished Mark.

It took a few days before Mark could move around without feeling pain, only when he bumped into something or was uncareful, he could still feel the bruises. If he got up from bed too quickly, he would become dizzy.

Antonio had tried to avoid Mark as much as possible, in which he succeeded. Mark returned to the room, to change clothing. Miguel had been mad with Mark only the first day.

After that, he tried to convince Mark that it was too dangerous to try again to escape. Mark had to promise him that he wouldn't try it again, because Miguel wouldn't be always there to help him.

When he opened the door, Mark frowned. He saw Sebastiaan with a strange sort of necklace with white beads in his hands, mumbling softly. ''What are you doing?'' he asked suspicious.

Sebastiaan looked up surprised, he hadn't hear his older brother coming. ''Praying a rosary, I knocked over a vase. Antonio said if I prayed a rosary, I wouldn't have to pay for it in hell'' he said, before again concentrating on the necklace and mumbling prayers.

Mark stood there for a few seconds, in shock. It was true! Sebastiaan was turning into a catholic. Then Mark turned around, heading for the library. The door was closed but Mark didn't mind knocking before entering.

He opened the door roughly. Antonio was sitting in a chair, in another chair he saw Bell. Mark didn't pay any attention to Bell, walked past her towards Antonio. ''Never heard of knocking?'' Antonio grumbled irritated.

''Sebastièn… Sebastiaan isn't a catholic!'' he shouted, correcting himself when he used the new name for his brother. ''He isn't praying /any/ rosaries anymore!''

Antonio glared a moment at him before standing up and doing a few paces towards Mark. ''He is a catholic now, and so are you and your sister. I registered you in the catholic church last Sunday.''

Mark glared at him, angry because Antonio had done that without even bothering to tell them. ''Well, get us out again! I will never go back to the catholic church after what they have done. People died of hunger because the church wanted to build a new statue. The donations didn't went to the poor people but to wine for the friars! We will not become one of the followers of a mob of thieves and profiteers!''

Antonio looked at Mark, startled that Mark would say that. Then the consciousness came back, together with rage.

''I already warned you not to speak of the catholic church in that way, perro!'' Antonio frowned, glancing at Mark. ''I speak the truth'' Mark snarled back, not moving an inch away.

Bell kept looking at the two in the chair. Antonio raised his hand, to warn Mark not to say anything else. ''What? Are you going to hit me?'' Mark said furious. ''That's the only thing you can do, you're just like your church. Cowardly and egoistic!''

Antonio grabbed the collar of his shirt, holding it tight. ''Callate…'' Antonio warned Mark for the last time. ''You're going to shut up and walk out of here, or I will call the guards''

Mark jerked Antonio hand away from his throat, wanting to say something. He surely remembered the guards. He hesitated for a moment, was it worth the risk of getting beaten up again?

Just a few angry words to Antonio? Mark hissed furious but turned around and walked out. Bell sighed relieved. Mark stormed back through the hallway towards their room, opening the door. Sebastiaan was still praying.

''Stop it, right now…'' Mark said, the anger still clearly hearable in his voice. The kid dropped the necklace, a bit scared of Marks voice.

The teen sighed, lifting his brother of the ground. ''It isn't you who I'm mad with'' he said, trying to calm his little brother.


	3. Chapter 3 Oranges for breakfast

He grabbed one of the strange orange fruits in the tree, while sitting on a branch. Mark looked down to the ground and threw it in the blanket that Miguel was holding.

''Careful…'' the old man commented when the orange almost missed the blanket and almost fell on the ground. Mark grumbled something back, plucking the next orange.

He hoped that the branch would be able to hold him, because it was a bit too high to fall down from here. Mark shortly looked down, he didn't like heights.

He wasn't scared but he also didn't like to be up in a tree, one little mistake and he would fall down a few meters.

It had been a few week since his arrival in this house, it still seemed huge and rich to him and his siblings. And the work in the garden was never done, it was just too much.

But that could also be caused by the neglect for the past few years.

Mark had tried to avoid Antonio and Romano as much as possible, but especially the young kid seemed to have made it into a sport to annoy him as much as possible.

Everywhere Mark went, Romano went. Doing anything to irritate him, making noise, insulting, making him trip.

The teen tried to control himself, it was for the best to just ignore the kid. But it was getting harder every day.

Going to church had been a hell, Mark refused to believe in the catholic nonsense. But his brother was slowly going to believe in it.

And how harder Mark tried to stay away from Catholicism, how harder Antonio tried to convince them. Every meal now started /and/ ended with reading from the bible and saying a catholic prayer.

The last few days, Antonio even wanted them to pray before they went to sleep. It wouldn't take long or the Spaniard would even want them to pray for every step they would make.

Until now, they still were praying protestant prayers. But Mark suspected that even his sister was sometimes praying the catholic way, mostly in church.

Sebastiaan and Romano actually seemed to become friends with each other, surprisingly.

Mark had seen them playing in the front garden. Although Sebastiaan had walked away when he saw his big brother looking. The kid knew that Mark wasn't happy about it.

And whatever Mark said to Sebastiaan, about it being the catholics fault that they were here now instead of home, the boy didn't seem to believe the teen.

Mark plucked the last few oranges which he could reach and threw them in the blanket, before climbing down carefully down the branches, jumping the last bit.

He helped Miguel putting the oranges in basket, but was still thinking. The old man seemed to notice that Mark wasn't paying much attention to what he was doing.

''What are you up to?'' Miguel asked suspicious. ''I hope you're not again thinking of an escape''

Mark woke up from his daydream and looked at Miguel, a bit disturbed. ''No…no…'' he could still feel the bruises, a few scars on his arms, legs and back were a permanent reminder of the failed attempt.

Mark wasn't going to give up that easily, but he wasn't planning on an escape right now. He had to wait a few more weeks, until there was a possibility to escape, without getting caught again that quickly.

The pile of garden garbage was gone, it was removed immediately after Mark had tried to escape that way. And a few days after, when Mark was able to move again, on the place where the wall was touching the shack, there was placed barbed wire, to prevent anyone to climb over it easily.

First he had to find a better escape route. One that could also be a route for Bell and Sebastiaan. And he needed a plan B, just in case.

Mark got the ladder and placed it back in the shack, before picking up a crate and bringing it to the house.

When he walked into the flower garden, he saw Sebastiaan and Romano playing on the grass nearby the pond. Mark stopped and looked at them for a moment. Sebastiaan was laughing when Romano did a magic trick with a few pebbles.

Mark grumbled irritated, he thought that he had been clear to Sebastiaan about Romano. When Romano noticed Mark, he stood up and walked towards him, taking two oranges out of the basket, scowling shortly before walking back to Sebastiaan.

Mark frowned and continued his way to the kitchen.

Bell was making a salad, softly singing a song from their own home. Mark cleared his throat to make her aware of his presence.

She turned around and smiled, slightly tilting her head. ''Thank you, Marcos'' she said cheerfully.

The expression on Marks face changed rapidly, from normal to angry. He glanced at her, putting the crate on the floor. ''Marcos?'' he asked, a sharp tune in his voice.

Bell had seemed to have noticed her mistake. ''Ehm… I'm sorry, Mark'' she looked down at the floor, grabbing the crate.

Mark grabbed her wrist, not harshly but still tight. ''We aren't going to stay here for the rest of our lives! We're going back home! And our names are still Sebastiaan, Bell and Mark. Not those damn Spanish ones!'' he whispered but the rage was still hearable in it.

''Let go…'' she squaked softly, looking him in the eyes. A hint of fear in the green eyes. Mark let go of her hand. He wanted to say something, something that would make clear that he didn't mean it that way. Bell pulled back her hand and turned around, slicing a orange.

''I…I'm sorry…'' he mumbled ashamed before walking out. He didn't understand why he had been that mean to his sister, it wasn't her fault.

That evening, he returned late to their room, not wanting to have to talk to Bell. Mark softly opened the door, trying to make as little as sound as possible.

When he peeked around the door, he saw that his siblings were already asleep. He sighed relieved and walked inside. The teen still didn't had the slightest idea about what to say to Bell.

He didn't understand why he did that to her. But he would make sure it would never happen again.

''Wake up!'' he heard a voice saying, feeling someone tugging his arm. Mark blinked confused before opening his eyes to see who it was. The scowl in the others eyes made clear that it was Romano.

Mark growled irritated. ''What?'' he snarled shortly. ''How late is it?'' Mark said while sitting up and looking out of the tiny window. The sun was just appearing at the horizon.

He jerked his sleeve out of the kids hands. ''It's seven o'clock, and I'm hungry!'' he replied scowling. ''And why is that my problem?'' Mark snarled pushing Romano away. ''I want breakfast!'' Romano said, raising his voice.

Mark saw Bell turning in her bed, she would wake up if Romano kept screaming like that. And Mark still hadn't think of anything to say to her. ''Ssjt!'' the teen said to Romano while getting up from his bed and pushing Romano out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

''I'm not your slave, get your own damn food'' Mark said while looking Romano in his eyes. He was getting angry, the kid was just being rude. ''You're still a lousy protestant! Now, get me some breakfast!'' Romano shouted furious, raising his voice.

The kid was crossing the line. Mark raised his hand to make him shut up. Antonio opened his door, still a bit sleepy. He just looked into the hall, trying to find out what was the reason of all the yelling.

Romano saw Antonio entering the hallway, but Mark didn't, he was standing his back facing Antonio. Antonio did a few steps towards them, wondering what was going on this early. Mark was angry at Romano for insulting him again, waking him up that early and putting up such a attitude.

His hand hit Romano's face harshly, to make him shut up. It was silent for a moment. Romano reached for his face, screaming like he was being murdered, peeking through his fingers to watch what Antonio would do, slightly smirking.

Mark breathed deeply to stop himself from beating the kid anymore when he suddenly felt a blow at the back of his head. ''Have you gone mad?'' he heard someone shouting. Mark turned around, his arms in front of his head to protect it.

He saw Antonio, furious, just a few inches away from him. ''Romano is just a kid!'' The next blow hit him in the stomach, making him gasp for air. Antonios rage didn't stop, it just went on and on.

He had been calm and patient but no one would hurt Romano and get away with it! Mark did a step back, still holding his arms in front of him. He was also getting angry. Romano was the one who was deserving a beating! Not he!

The anger of the past weeks came up again, all at the same time. Marks fingers clenched to fists and he put his right foot behind him, before he fought back. The Spanish man stumbled on his feet when he got punched back.

Mark was furious and kept hitting, the stomach, the head and the troath. Romano was shouting, in fear and anger. Mark didn't hear the door behind him opening, Bell and Sebastiaan were looking in horror at the fight.

Antonio found a moment to recover and moved forward. The catholic was older and stronger than Mark, although a bit smaller but also quicker. The next hit knocked Mark against a wall, leaving him with a nosebleed.

He wiped a bit of the blood away and his fist moved rapidly towards Antonio. Romano was moving away a few paces, not sure about who was winning the fight. The Spaniard dogged the hit, Mark tripped forward, barely managing to keep standing on his feet.

Antonio grabbed his arm and twisted it on his back. Mark gritted his teeth and tried to free his arm, every movement caused a painful sting. He could see his brother and sister still standing in the doorframe.

But they didn't do anything to help him, they just stood there, confused and a bit scared. ''He is still a kid!'' Antonio shouted angry. ''You will go to hell!'' Mark continued trying to free himself, his arm being pulled up a bit further.

''Let go, bastard!'' he snarled back in pain. Mark saw a few drops of blood falling on the carpet in the hallway. Sebastiaan started crying softly. ''I…I… don't want… Marcos to go to hell'' he said sniffing.

Antonio shortly looked at Sebastiaan. ''If he keeps acting like this, he most certainly will!'' he said back before turning to Mark.

''Why do you keep resisting? Can't you see that your siblings are getting scared of you? Can't you see that you're the only one who keeps fighting against Catholicism. And you attack a defenseless kid, have you gone mad?''

He frowned and held the arm tight. Bell did a few paces forward and grabbed Antonio's arm. ''Please stop, he didn't mean it this way'' she said to him.

Antonio looked at her and eased his grip lightly. ''I'm sick of this disobedient behavior of yours. I'm still your guardian. You swear, fight and disobey my rules. This isn't over'' he warned him before letting him go. ''Get to work'' he said, glaring.

Mark looked back to Antonio, still angry. His arm still ached. It was still earlier than normal when he went working, but Mark turned and walked out of the house, towards the gardens. In the reflection of the pool water, he washed the blood of his face and hands.

It took another hour before Miguel arrived in the garden. ''What did you do?'' he asked when he saw the bruises on Marks face. ''Nothing!'' he replied, still angry, not looking up from his work.

Miguel frowned. ''Mark… what did you do?'' he asked again, this time stopping with working and looking at the teen. '''Some problem with Antonio and Romano…'' Mark growled back.

Miguel sighed deeply. ''Why do you keep getting in trouble?'' he asked, slightly irritated. ''I don't know, okey! They are just pissing me off every single time. Especially Romano!'' Miguel did a few steps closer.

''But you realize you're only bringing yourself, Sebastiaan and Bell in trouble? Antonio has been very patient with you but I don't know if he will still be that easy to you after this.'' Mark grumbled something back, knowing that Miguel was right about it.

It was already afternoon when Mark heard voices in the front garden. Leaning on a broom, he stood next to the hedge. On the other side, he could hear them talking, sitting on a bench.

One voice belonged to Antonio, the other one was unknown.  
''I don't know why he keeps fighting. His brother and sister are already turning into good catholics. But he refuses everything that got something to do with the church.

And this morning, he attacked Romano, out of the blue. I asked Romano, he said he was just walking towards the kitchen to get some breakfast when Marcos stormed out of the room and beat him up. I tried, but he is just too stubborn'' Antonio said.

The other person grinned. ''You're always too nice, my friend. That's why he keeps fighting everything you say'' the voice said. Mark tried to breath at softly as possible so he could hear the talking. ''That's why I asked you to come, if you can take him with you, I can make proper catholics of his sister and brother.''

It was quiet for a moment. ''Hmm… I think I can do that. How old is he? It's hard work at the mine'' Marks eyes widened with surprise, he was going to be separated from Bell and Sebastiaan? ''Sixteen, almost seventeen. And believe me, he has got enough strength.'' Antonio grinned softly.

''In a few weeks he will be begging to get back here. You have been spoiling him, that's why he's acting up'' the unknown voice said.

The men stood up from the bench and Mark walked away from the hedge, before they could see him. But the men didn't come to the other garden, but walked inside.

It wasn't until late, when Miguel returned home and Mark walked to the house when he saw the strange man. He was about the same height as Mark was and even in this heat, he was wearing a scarf around his neck.


	4. Chapter 4 As black as coal

Antonio noticed Mark coming inside of the house. He first took a look at the mud under Marks shoes, leaving a mess inside of the house. The Spaniard frowned. ''Marcos… how many times I have to say it again? No shoes in the house!''

But the teen wasn't paying much attention to the sermon of the man. He looked to the stranger, a stranger with weirdly colored eyes. He seemed like someone from the North, maybe also a protestant.

Maybe he was getting them out of this cursed place! ''So this is Marcos?'' the man said to Antonio. The Spaniard nodded frowning, glaring at Mark. The stranger spoke with a heavy accent. ''Who are you? Are you a protesta…'' Mark was cut off by the Russian.

''заткнись!'' the stranger said to him, before again turning to Antonio. ''Well, you were right about his manners. But don't worry, he will learn some pretty quick after a few weeks in the mine'' he grinned.

Mark remembered the talk in the garden, which he heard. ''I want to head back, this heat is killing me. Goodbye Antonio, I will write you a letter soon. Let's go, Marcos!'' the Russian said grabbing Marks arm.

The teen jerked his arm back, standing his ground and glancing at the stranger. ''I'm not going anywhere without my sister and brother'' The man sighed and grabbed something that was standing behind him.

Mark did a step back, just before his head felt like it was about to explode he saw something shining in the sunlight. Black spots appeared in his sight, he fell down on his knees.

The last thing he saw was the man grinning and speaking to Antonio. ''If you hadn't been that stubborn about disciplining him yourself, he wouldn't be such a disobedient brat'' Antonio sighed, not wanting to discuss the matter again. ''You're sure you can handle those other two?'' the stranger asked, letting the faucet pipe softly coming down in his own hand a few times.

''Yes, it's just Marcos who keeps fighting every single thing'' Mark felt being picked up and thrown over a shoulder before everything blacked out completely.

''Wake up…'' he heard a voice, someone softly jerking at his arm. Mark moaned softly when he felt the headache coming back, blinking a few times. It was dark, night probably. ''Miguel isn't there yet, Bell, let me sleep'' he mumbled. ''Bell?'' he heard another voice asking.

Mark frowned before opening his eyes. He could see a few shadows in the weak light of a lantern. Confused, he sat up quickly, before grabbing his head. ''Aaargh…'' he moaned. ''Calm down…calm down….'' he heard the first voice saying. ''Where am I?'' he asked confused, trying to see who the other persons where. He saw three shadows.

''In the coalmine of mr. Braginsky'' the second voice said. ''I'm Eduard and those are my brothers, Raivis and Toris'' the one who had stayed quiet before, said. He gave him some kind of glass. When Mark drank from it, he tasted water.

''You have been unconscious for at least a whole day'' Mark frowned, trying to remember what happened, bit by bit his memory came back. ''What am I doing here?'' he asked. Mark felt the cold ground underneath him, barely able to see anything down here. The smell of the air was stale.

''This is a coalmine, getting coal from the rocks and getting it up, above the ground'' the shortest one said. A yell went through the tunnel. It wasn't a yell of panic, but more to announce something.

''We'll explain later'' the man who was called Toris said. ''You go with Eduard, we still got to catch up with the schedule. We're late'' They got up, two of them walked to the left in the tunnel and the other two to the right, one of them Mark.

At the end of the tunnel, there were two pickaxes and a small cart on a rail. There were noises of hacking hearable in the distance. Eduard handed one of the pickaxes to Mark and pointed at a even smaller tunnel.

''Hack some coal loose and put it into the cart. When it's full, you shout Nākamais. We've got to hurry, we are already behind schedule '' Eduard said before climbing into one of the small tunnels with the pickaxe with a small lantern.

Mark was still not able to understand everything but those three brothers seemed nice. And the stranger who hit him on the head wasn't…

The tunnel was narrow and Mark was barely able to breathe when he hacked the coal and dust spread through the air. He coughed awfully, feeling like he was about to choke.

Every time he collected enough loose coal, he went out of the tunnel to put it into the cart. Although in the big tunnel there was also lots of dust, it was far less than in the small one.

After a long time, it had seemed like eternity to Mark, he heard Eduard's voice again. ''Day's over!'' Mark sighed relieved, his arms were sore and every few minutes he coughed hard. With some difficulty, he managed to get out of the tunnel for the last day.

The two other brothers returned and they walked through the corridors. Mark heard them whispering about goals and someone called Braginsky. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, just above a ladder. Mark heard voices in another tunnel, coming closer.

They seemed familiar but before he could remember where he heard those voices before, they stopped talking. Eduard climbed up the ladder, towards the light, shortly behind him Mark. ''Don't fall, we will all fall to our deaths'' Toris said to him, just a few feet beneath him.

Marks arms were ready to give in, they were just too tired to hold on to the ladder. But somehow he managed to get up.

The light was bright, tears appeared in the corners of his eyes. Mark put a arm above his eyes, so he could see something. Eduard helped him up, his clothes and face covered with a thin layer of black powder of the coal.

He saw the others come up, Mark sat down just a few meters away from the ladder, gasping softly. His headache was coming back. When he looked at his hands, he could see that they were as black as Eduards. Toris appeared at the top of the ladder and he looked at somebody behind Mark.

The teen turned his head and saw two legs. He lightly frowned and looked up, seeing the face of the stranger. The man looked down and grinned. ''First day is always the toughest.'' Than the Russian man turned to Toris. ''There isn't enough...'' he said, his voice cold and harsh.

''Ehm… the new one slowed us down'' Toris stuttered, getting pale. ''Excuses?'' Ivan said, coming closer with the same faucet pipe that hit Mark on the head in Antonio's house. Mark tensed his muscles, not trusting the Russian. ''Ehm… we're sorry!'' Toris said, his eyes widened with fear. ''Saying sorry won't get me more coal…'' Ivan said. He glanced at Mark.

''You still don't get where you are, do you? You're not at Antonio's house anymore. You're in a mine. And in a mine you will work hard. No time for being lazy slow. Do you get that?'' he said.

Mark just stared back at him, too tired to say anything back. The Russian was losing his patience and grabbed the collar of Marks shirt, dragging him with him. Mark grabbed the fabric around his neck, trying to catch his breath. Finally, Ivan let go of him.

Mark fell on the ground and tried to get back on his feet. But before he could, he felt a foot on in his side, keeping him on the ground, while a door behind them was slammed. The teen tried to get away from under the foot. ''You were lucky, you barely had to do anything there at Spain's house. Rude, lazy and stubborn. But that will change now you're here. I'm not so patient and merciful as Antonio. I even gave you a change to prove that you would work here. But no, you just choose to do nothing. Well, I've warned you enough.''

Mark heard a swaying sound before all the air was blown out of his lungs. He gasped for air with short squeaking breaths. ''If you won't listen the easy way, than you will feel the hard way'' Ivan said, before again letting the faucet pipe coming down, this time on the shoulder of Mark. The teen yelled in pain and anger, still trying to get up.

The man just sighed and continued. After a few more hits, Mark was too tired to keep trying and he stopped moving. Still softly gasping for air. ''I hope you have learned your lesson, although I doubt it'' the man said, while kicking him in the guts and walking away. Mark managed to pull himself to the wall of the room, sighing in desperation.

How was he going to escape from here? He heard the door being locked. And even if the door wasn't, he wouldn't have the energy to run away. Mark was angry at Ivan, he had worked as hard as he could and still got beaten up. He didn't deserve this! But the lack of energy was winning over his anger and Mark slowly fell asleep, tired of the hard labor.

The next morning, he was woken roughly by ice cold water. Mark gasped in panic, coughing up water that had gone into his lungs and sitting up. His eyes wide open wide surprise, he looked up at the grinning Russian. ''Time to get to work, get up!'' he said.

Mark slowly got on his feet, glaring at Ivan, every muscle in his body ached and his head wasn't much better either. ''Hurry up, собака'' Ivan said irritated and pushing him out roughly, towards the ladder. Mark saw the last one of the brother, Raivis, climb down the ladder. Mark followed him, his arms aching even more.

''I told you to hurry'' Ivan grumbled. ''Or do I have to help with dropping a few bricks?'' he asked irritated. Mark heard Raivis rushing down the ladder even quicker than before. That man wasn't going to be that crazy that he would really drop a few bricks at the top of the ladder, would he?

But judging on Raivis reaction, that man was mad enough to do it. Down in the mine, he got handed a axe and Mark followed Eduard again to the tunnels, his clothing still wet of the water.

His arms quickly became really tired, still aching from yesterday. But every time Mark wanted to take a rest, Eduard reminded him of the goal they had to reach. Not making the goal once was bad enough, but two times in a row even worse.

After hours and hours, Eduard finally appeared at the end of the tunnel and said it was time for lunch. Mark quickly crawled out, he was starving. But the lunch was disappointing, just a few slices of bread and some water. Because they hadn't made the goal yesterday, dinner was skipped. Everyone was hungry.

After the break, the work even seemed harder and harder, Mark was sweating and panting. It seemed like there was never going to be an end. And every few minutes the dust in his lungs became too much and an inevitable coughing followed.

When finally the end came, Mark just wanted to lay down and don't move. But somehow he again climbed up the ladder, again to see Ivans face. ''Just enough'' he shortly said. The brothers already walked back to the place where they slept, when Ivan called Marks name.

The teen startled, tensing his muscles, waiting for the first hit. He turned around. The Russian got something from behind his back. Mark already did a step backwards, checking his eye corners for a possibility to dodge the hit. But it wasn't a pipe that Ivan grabbed, it was a piece of cloth. A scarf actually. ''Tie it in front of your nose and mouth. It will stop the dust from coming into your lungs'' the man said, while handing it to Mark. The teen frowned, still not trusting the man. It was obvious that even overground his coughing had been heard. But why would the man help him?

It seemed like the Russian could read his mind. ''I can't have sick workers, they only cost me money instead of working'' Mark frowned and glared at the man, that Russian wasn't even human, he thought.

Working with the scarf was harder, it prevented him from breathing easy. After a few hours, Mark was that irritated that he jerked the scarf off. But when he saw how dirty the scarf was, dust that otherwise would have gone into his lungs, he sighed and again tied the scarf around his neck.

Minutes became hours, hours became days, days became weeks. After a few days, Mark lost track of time. It was always the same, wake up, work, break, work, dinner, sleep, wake up, work, break, work, dinner, sleep. It repeated over and over.

On day, the wheel of the cart broke and it couldn't be repaired instantly. Because of that, they had to put the coal into big bags and carry them up the ladder. It was even more tiring than normal. Just after a few hours, Mark felt like he already worked a whole day. And every time he went up, he saw the face of the Russian, sitting in a chair, drinking vodka and reading the newspaper.

The last few steps on the ladder, the bag on his right shoulder. Mark was panting heavily and got on the ground outside. He threw the bag on top of the pile of the coal, making a cloud of dust. ''Ey! Careful you!'' Ivan said irritated, waving with the newspaper. Mark just glared furiously at him. All that that Russian did was sitting down and commanding.

Ivan seemed to notice the glare and he got up from his chair, putting the bottle and the newspaper down. ''Get down in the mine…'' he said coldly, his violet colored eyes glancing back, just inches away from Mark. The teens body ached, black and blue spots everywhere. It was a horrible place to work, no light, dust and very hard labor.

Mark didn't move, he even didn't look away. ''You clearly still don't understand your place here!'' Ivan snarled, grabbing the horsewhip he always carried with him. ''Take of your shirt'' he commanded. Mark refused to do anything and that earned him a lash across his face, over his eye. He felt blood dripping down, doing a step back and closing his eyes. Mark felt a blow in his stomach and being thrown to the ground.

His shirt was ripped of his back. Mark put his arms beneath him and pushed himself up, trying to avoid the first hit. The teen pushed himself to the right, away from Ivan. The whip curled around his throat, leaving a bleeding lash on the skin. Mark cried out in pain, it sounded hoarse and choked. The boot of Ivan landed in his guts, making him fall down on the ground again, gasping in desperate need of air. Every breath hurt at his throat and lungs.

But Ivan was clearly not done yet. ''You will obey me, even if I have to beat you to death'' his back got ripped open with the whip. Mark held his arms in front of his face, trying to protect it. His legs he pulled up to prevent getting kicked in the stomach again.

But his back was still an easy target to Ivan. Every lash left a bleeding wound. Mark gritted his teeth, trying to keep quiet. He didn't want to give the Russian the satisfaction of making him scream. Ivan continued whipping the teen until he was out of breath, lightly panting he looked down on the figure on the ground, his back covered in blood.


	5. Chapter 5 Red is the colour of blood

Mark was laying on his side, the pain was almost unbearable. Ivan glanced down on him. '' так же, как твой отец и братья'' the Russian said, shaking his head slightly. He turned around and walked towards the ladder of the mine. ''Toris! Raivis!'' he called. ''Get Marcos out of my sight!''

The teen was breathing softly, inhaling deep hurt awfully. Ivan walked back to his chair and grabbed some papers from the desk. Now the foreman was fired a couple weeks ago, after he had been caught stealing, Ivan had to do everything by himself. Counting the loads of coal, checking the tools, selling to clients and lots more.

And on top of that, he had to make sure that the miners were working. That's why he was outside, so he could work /and/ keep an eye on the miners. In less than a minute, Raivis and Toris were above the ground. Blood dripped into his eye, making his sight blurry.

He saw the two coming closer to him, Toris mumbling something. Mark flinched when Lithuanian checked the wounds on his back. ''Get some water'' Toris said against his little brother, before helping Mark to stand up. Ivan didn't even take notice of the three, he was just continuing his work, like nothing happened.

With great difficuilty, the teen managed to get back on his feet and walk towards the sleeping place. There, he again collapsed. Mark softly moaned, tears appearing in the corners of his eyes of pain. Raivis returned with water and pieces of cloth. ''This is going to hurt'' Toris warned him.

He soaked a piece of cloth in the water and washed the wounds, as quickly as possible to prevent unnecessary pain. Mark tried to push Toris away, he wanted the pain to stop. ''This must be done, otherwise you will have black scars of the coal dust, if you're lucky enough not to die of blood-poisoning'' the Lithuanian said.

The teen stopped pushing him, his fingers digging in the ground of pain , trying to ignore the aching as best as he could. He saw the water becoming red from his blood. Finally Toris was done, putting the bandages around it. Raivis already went back, they still had to make the goal of today. ''Done…'' Toris said. ''…Why did Ivan beat you up like this?'' he asked.

Mark was quiet for a few moments before replying. ''Something stupid…'' the teen grumbled. Toris stood up again, sighing deeply. ''Well, I got to go back, you try to sleep. And don't move too much, otherwise I will have to clean those wounds again'' The door was closed again, Mark was alone.

His back felt like it was on fire. And what for? An angry glare, nothing more. He now knew that Ivan hadn't been lying about him having an easy life at Antonio's house. Now Mark looked back, he knew he had a simple life back then. Getting good meals, having his siblings around him and the work wasn't really that hard.

But still, Mark regretted nothing, Romano was just a little brat. He just had to make sure that he would survive here and wouldn't go insane. Then he would return and take Sebastiaan and Bell. They weren't going to break him, even if they would beat him near to death. He would not yield!

He saw his father and brothers return, walking down the gravel towards the door. Mark smiled and put down the spade. But Bell and Sebastiaan were quicker, they opened the door and ran towards them. Mark followed them closely. But there was something strange about his family, his father wore a rosary around his neck and so wore his brothers.

He frowned and slowed down his pace. ''Sebastiaan! Bell!'' he called to them, hoping that they would stop. His siblings continued running towards them. Bell jumped into the arms of her elder brothers and Sebastiaan was lifted by his father. Mark saw his fathers hair becoming shorter and changing colour, while he threw Sebastiaan playfully in the air.

When their eyes crossed paths, Mark saw that his eyes had became violet colored. ''Sebastiaan! Bell!'' he shouted again, this time slightly panicking when he saw his brothers were gone and Antonio was embracing Bell. Ivan put down his little brother and approached Mark with a whip in his hand.

When the door opened again, Mark woke up roughly from his nightmare . ''It was just a dream…it was just a dream…'' he kept repeating to himself, still a bit shaking. He didn't remember his back until he tried to sit up too quick. The three miners walked inside, still black with all the coal dust. They sat down silently, tired of the day of work.

After a few minutes, Eduard asked how Mark got in the mine in the first place and why Ivan kept calling him Marcos. ''There was a war, my brothers and father went to fight. I was too young to come with them so I stayed behind with my sister and brother. The war was lost but they didn't come back… two years later, a weird Spaniard broke into our house and took us with him.

He wanted to turn us into catholics'' Mark explained the rest of the story quickly. ''…and then I hit Romano. I hadn't notice Antonio standing behind me, he went mad. At the end of the day, Ivan came for me. I still have to find a way back to save my siblings'' Eduard shook his head. ''Escaping from here?'' he said. ''That's impossible, look at yourself. And that was only for glaring at him. What do you think will happen to you if you try to escape?''

The teen was thinking. ''Still I have to try, I can't stay here and leave Sebastiaan and Bell with that bastard'' It was quiet for a few moments. ''What happened to you?'' Mark asked, to break the silence. ''The Russian hadn't enough miners, so he went to the city. We are orphans and by then we were living on the street. We also aren't brothers by blood, but we do care for each other as brothers. Ivan promised us a good home, with food. Well, by then we didn't know we would end up here'' Toris said, while looking around the room. His voice became softer as he spoke, not wanting Ivan to hear any of it.

''A few months later, Northern prisoners were brought here to work, so we weren't the only ones. But it didn't end up too well for them. '' Toris stopped his story. ''What happened?'' Mark asked curious. ''What I just told you: It didn't end up too well for them. I'm too tired to tell you the whole story now'' Toris said, while pulling a thin blanket up to his chin.

''Tomorrow?'' the teen asked, wanting to know /what/ happened. ''Yeah yeah, just go to sleep now, or your wounds won't heal properly.'' It took many hours before the teen could sleep, the pain kept him awake. Finally, when he was exhausted, Mark closed his eyes.

Light fell on his face when the door was opened in the morning, Ivan standing in the doorframe. His footsteps boomed through the room when he walked to Mark. The teen got up from the floor when he saw Ivan reaching to pull him up by his hair. He had suffered enough pain, he thought himself. His back aching terribly. He bit on his tongue, not to show anything.

The Russian grabbed him in his neck and turned him around. Mark pulled his shoulder away when he felt a hand pushing on a few lashes. ''Useless…'' Ivan mumbled while letting go of his neck. Mark turned around, looking at him. ''You're going to repair tools and gear today. And it's done before the end of this day, or I will beat you again. Understood?'' Mark nodded angrily, refusing to face Ivan. The Russian left again, walking towards the mine where the three brothers already were.

The shack were the tools were kept was full of broken ones. Mark sighed deeply, it would be hard work to repair them all before the end of the day. But he had no other options. Mark sat down and grabbed a pick axe, which shaft was broken off. The teen replaced it with a new handle and sharpened the pick axe, before putting it back in the chest.

The pile of broken tools decreased slowly, his back feeling sore. Mark cursed softly at Ivan and Antonio. They were the ones who did this to him and his family. And what for? Turning him into a catholic. Ivan was also a catholic, but luckily, Mark didn't have to go to church. Not that he had time to go to /any/ church, even on Sunday, they had to work.

While working, he tried to forget the dream he had. But the sight of Antonio embracing his sister made him very angry. How dared that Spanish rat even come near his sister? But still, it was a dream. Bell was of course smart enough to stay away from him, Mark was sure about that. He hoped, she could also keep Sebastiaan away from Romano. Now Romano was the cause of Marks departure, he most likely wouldn't be hanging around that Southern kid anymore.

The teen continued working, not taking a break. It was too much work, if he just kept working hard, he may had a change of completing it before the Russian would return. The sun was slowly moving down the horizon when Ivan returned. The pile was gone and every tool was again were they belonged. Ivan randomly checked a few to make sure it was repaired correctly.

He then turned around. ´´Come´´ he said, before pushing Mark back to the sleep area. Nothing else, not a thanks or a well-done. It was clear that the Russian hadn't expected Mark to finish it. The door behind him was locked again. Eduard, Raivis and Toris were already there. Mark sat down and looked at Toris, who was obviously tired and sleepy. ''What happened to them?'' he asked impatient. Toris yawned tired, knowing Mark wouldn't stop before he knew the story.

''A father and his sons tried to escape but they got caught. The father got beaten to death by the Russian, the sons survived but got send away from the mine. The other Northerns are still here, although they are working in a other part of the mine, placing beams to make sure the roof won't come down. Can I sleep now?'' Toris yawned again. ''What were their names?'' Mark asked.

''I can't remember their names, it happened a long times ago. The man who died had a name something like Wolf, although I can't remember for sure'' Mark stared at Toris. ''Wulf?'' he asked, anxious to know for sure. ''And the brothers, were they called Ludwig and Gilbert?'' Toris lifted his eyebrows, curious why Mark wanted to know their names so badly.

''Yeah, something like that. But keep your voice down, Eduard and Raivis are already asleep. And I'm going to sleep too'' he said before lying down and curling up under the blanket. A painful sting went through his heart. The names were correct, the timing was correct but still he couldn't believe it. It couldn't be his own family! Although it fit, his family hadn't come back from war. But his father couldn't have died that easily! Mark just couldn't believe it. He stayed awake the whole night, worried about his brothers. He had to know where they were and if they were alright.

The next morning, Mark heared the key turning in the lock, he immediately got on his feet and stood just behind the door. ''Where are my brothers?'' he asked haunting. Ivan looked at the teen, stunned. Mark repeated his question. ''Where are my brothers?'' Ivan frowned and glared at him. ''You aren't really a fast learner, are you?'' he snarled.

The Russian pushed him aside, but Mark wasn't stopped that easily, now he knew this man had torn his family apart. ''Where are they?'' he shouted in anger. Ivan first tried to ignore him, but he had ran out of patience. ''Still a feisty one, huh?'' he said, while grabbing Mark at the collar of his shirt and pushing him against the wall. The teen felt the wounds on his back burn but glared back at Ivan, grabbing the hands and tried jerking them away.

The three brothers were woken by the shouting. ''Eduard,Toris,Raivis, out! Now! Get to work'' Ivan said furiously to them. In seconds, the only ones in the room were Mark and Ivan. ''You don't understand what your place is. You do as I say whenever I say and you don't ask questions. Especially not with that voice!'' Mark gasped for air when he felt a hit in his stomach.

Ivan pulled him away from the wall and kicked him in the back of his knees, causing him to fall on the ground. Mark tried to get up again, but failed. ''You clearly have got enough energy left to work in the mine, no reason to let you deal with the easy chores.'' Ivan growled at him. ''I will not allow you to speak to me with that voice'' while Mark heard a sound of metal against the concrete floor.

His arm was twisted the wrong way and he felt something hitting his back. This time, Mark couldn't hold his screams. It hurt too much, the wounds from a few days ago being ripped open again. Mark felt his shirt becoming soaked with his own blood. After seven or eight blows, his screams became less loudly until they stopped, replaced by short winces.

Tears appeared in the corners of his eyes, of anger and pain. Knowing he would never see his father again, knowing that that man had beaten him to death, knowing he couldn't get away from here. When he thought he couldn't take anymore, the hitting stopped, followed by jerking at his twisted arm. ''Are you going to behave?'' the Russian shouted in his ear.

Mark nodded slowly, mumbling a yes. ''Yes who?'' Ivan snarled, jerking again at his arm. ''Yes sir'' Mark replied, his voice still weak from the loss of blood. The Russian let go of his arm, kicked Mark to the ground and unlocked the door again. ''Get to work, собака'' he said. Mark slowly got on his feet and walked past Ivan, looking down at the ground.

He felt dizzy, the blood still dropping from his back. Mark luckily managed to get down the ladder without falling down, but when he reached the bottom of the mine, he collapsed. His father, gone and so were his brothers. Mark was getting desperate, how was he going to get away from here? Maybe, if he kept calm, Ivan would send him back to Antonio. There, he would have a change of escape. With the rest of his family.

It took hours before Mark was able to get on his feet and walk down the small tunnels. He wasn't as strong as usual and it took at least twice as long to fill a cart.


	6. Chapter 6 Belleza Bella

Bell softly hummed a song while combing her blonde hair. Her little brother was still sleeping, looking peaceful. The other bed in the room was empty, a painful sting went through her heart. Her older brother wasn't here anymore, of course, it had been his own fault.

He attacked Lovino without any reason. And when Antonio tried to stop him, Mark had attacked him too. The same day, Mark was gone. Bell and Sebastiaan didn't even have the opportunity to say goodbye to him. Antonio refused to say where Mark was, although he did insure them that their brother was coming back, eventually.

For the next few days, Lovino had been much calmer and less swearing. But quickly he picked up his old habits. Bell decided to let her little brother sleep a bit longer and softly walked out of the room. She was used to the size and wealth of the house by now. Bell shortly looked at the frontdoor, hoping there would be a white letter with black stains on it.

When Antonio received those letters, he always had good news about Mark. Although Bell couldn't read the Spanish in the letters, Antonio was always really careful that Bell nor Sebastiaan could ever get the letters.

It had already been a few days since they last received news about Mark, Bell was sure a letter would arrive soon.

While putting the plates on the table, Antonio entered the room, smiling at her. ''Goodmorning Bella'' he greeted her. She responded with a smile and turned around to get the bread. The Spaniard walked towards her and put his arms around her waist, letting his head rest on her shoulder.

Bell turned her head and was slightly blushing. Antonio had his eyes closed so he didn't see her face becoming red. He let go of here and walked out of the room. ''I'm going to wake Romano, belleza'' he said. Bell put her hand at her cheek, feeling it being warm.

Antonio had been acting like this since Mark left the house, but she didn't really mind about it. Bell breathed a few times deeply to make the blushing vanish and her heart return to normal beating.

The Spaniard returned quickly, with Sebastiaan and Romano. The two kids had become friends rapidly, although Mark had tried to convince Sebastiaan that Romano had bad influence on him. They sat down at the table, praying shortly before starting breakfast.

There weren't many differences between Protestantism and Catholicism, Bell actually didn't have much trouble with converting into a catholic. Only her eldest brother made a huge fuss about it. While thinking about Mark, she looked vaguely at the unoccupied chair at the other end of the table. Antonio noticed and took her hand.

''He will come back, don't worry Bella'' he tried to cheer her up a bit. ''I got another letter, I will read it to you but I first have to go to the city today. I will be back at the end of the evening'' he said, while quickly finishing his breakfast and heading towards the door. Bell smiled in a response, happy about the fact that there was another letter.

But it took ages for Antonio to return home, the whole day Bell was pacing around the house in impatience. She tried to distract herself with cleaning, cooking and watching Sebastiaan play with Romano. Bell entered the garden and started plucking carnations to put in a vase. She saw Miguel working in the back garden. The man had lots of work to do, now Mark wasn't here to help him.

She stopped for a moment, thinking. Bell couldn't read Spanish, but Miguel most certainly could! She rushed back inside, pacing towards the study of Antonio. She hesitated for a moment, Antonio never allowed anyone into his study. But she would only enter to get the letter and then she would leave immediately, not such of a big deal, right?

Bell put her hand on the doorknob and turned it, hearing a click before pushing the door open. She looked around, the room as wealthy decorated as the rest of the house. A cross above the desk. In a bookcase, she could see dozens of Spanish books. On the desk, everything was neatly stored. Only a white envelop, with black stains was in the middle. Bell did a few steps towards it, on her toes. She was still a bit afraid that Antonio had come home early and would find her in his study.

Bell opened the letter careful, taking the piece of paper out. After Miguel would have translated it for her, she would put it back and pretend she didn't know the content of the letter. She unfolded the letter and her eyes followed the sentences. Bell couldn't understand it, but it gave her some kind of feeling that her brother was okey. Bell again folded it and put it in a pocket of her dress, before heading towards the door.

''Miguel!'' she called for the old gardener, while standing in the doorframe. The man looked up, Bell walked towards him, while taking the letter out of her pocket. ''Could you please translate it for me?'' she asked, tilting her head. ''Please, it's news about Marcos'' Miguel lifted a eyebrow. ''Where did you get that letter?'' he asked, while taking the piece of paper. ''Ehm… doesn't matter'' she mumbled back, while staring at her shoes.

Miguel sighed, wanting to give her a sermon about stealing but he was also curious about news about Mark. He read the sentences and started translating. ''My friend Antonio, it's rather difficult managing the mine over here, since I had to fire my foreman. But I'm still making enough money to make a living out of it'' he said, while reading a few more lines.

''Nothing interesting….nothing interesting'' he mumbled while continuing reading. ''Aah, about Marcos'' he said. Miguel was looking at the paper, his eyes following the words. But he stopped translating, becoming paler and paler. ''What does the letter say about Marcos?'' Bell asked impatient. Miguel didn't respond.

'' Hijo de puta'' he mumbled while his eyes widened with shock. ''What's wrong?'' Bell asked frowning, not understanding why Miguel stopped translating. But she did notice the frontdoor closing, Antonio was back. Her heart skipped a beat, hoping he wouldn't immediately go to his study. But even if Antonio was planning on going there, Miguel would have stopped him.

The old man paced into the house, towards the corridor. ''¿Te has vuelto loco?'' he shouted furious. '' Él es sólo un adolescente!'' Bell followed him closely, not understanding why Miguel was shouting at Antonio. The Spaniard did a small step back when Miguel paced rapidly towards him, a bit surprised. '' ¿Una mina? ¿Tu lo envió a una mina?'' Miguel yelled at him. '' ¿Estás tratando de matarlo?''

Antonio recovered from the first surprise and started to yell back. '' Se lo merecía! Se atacó a Lovino y me!'' Miguel hissed in anger. '' ¿ Usted se llama un tutor?'' he snarled in disdain. '' Te le envió a la rusa…'' Miguel threw the letter to Antonio. '' Se está casi muerto a golpes. Te sabía que esto iba a pasar''

Antonio took the letter from the ground and started reading. ''Se lo merecía…'' he repeated, while reading. Miguel walked towards the frontdoor. Just before slamming the door behind him, he snarled at Antonio. ''Hujo de puta'' Bell looked in shock about what just happened. ''What's wrong?'' she asked Antonio.

He made a gesture to her to be quiet, while walking towards his study and shutting it behind him. Bell was left behind, not understanding what happened, but it had surely something to do with Mark.

Hijo de puta = son of a bitch  
Te has vuelto loco= have you gone mad?  
Él es solo un adolescente= he's just a teen  
Una mina= a mine  
Tu lo envoi a una mina= you sent him to a mine?  
Estás tratando de martarlo= are you trying to kill him?  
Se lo merecía= he deserved it  
Se atacó a Lovino y me= he attacked Lovino and me  
Usted se llama un tutor= You call yourself a guardian?  
Te le envoi a la rusa= you sent him to that Russian  
Se está casi muerto a golpes= he was almost beaten to death  
Te sabía que esto iba a pasar= you knew this would happen


	7. Chapter 7 Wounds heal but scars remain

((I promise the next chapter will be better))

His wounds had healed and turned into the scars on his back, face and neck. Mark was glad he had a scarf to hide the lash over his throat. A few days ago, he was sent to a other part of the mine, a few hundred meters away from the one he used to work in.

Mark had met the other miners, all of them prisoners of war. They fought in the same war as his father and brothers did. Some of them went to war knowing why they were fighting, like Matthias, Lukas and Berwald. The other two just went with them because they didn't want to be left behind, Emil and Tino.

''What happened to my brothers?'' Mark asked, while putting a supporting beam between the roof and the floor, to prevent it from collapsing. It was dangerous work but at least he wasn't in a narrow tunnel getting coal out of the stone. Berwald kept quiet en pretended like he didn't hear anything. But Tino responded after a few seconds. ''After the war, we were sent to this mine. Gilbert and Ludwig were always looking out for escape routes with your father. Even though it seemed impossible.'' Tino sat down and leaned on the black wall.

''Ivan was always keeping a close eye on any escape possibilities. But one day they found one. The foreman forgot to move the crates inside of the shack. The crates were still outside, next to the fence. And they weren't running off, leaving us behind like cowards would do. They warned us, although it would make their escape harder. We made a plan, first your father and your brothers. Then me, Emil and Raivis. And after that the rest would follow closely. But it went wrong before we even got over the fence. Wulf ran for the fence and climbed over it, Ludwig and Gilbert were still climbing when we hear someone shouting. We ran back but they were already seen. Your father refused to run away without Gilbert and Ludwig. But Ivan called the foreman and some others. Ludwig got over the fence but Gilbert got grabbed by his ankle and pulled down.'' Tino sighed.

''I wish we had done something by then. We were with more than them but we didn't. We went back, not wanting to get spotted by any of them.'' His voice was full of regret. ''We're so sorry, please forgive us'' Tino said, before starting to cry.

Lukas continued. ''You…you know what happened to your father… Your brothers got sent away, we didn't have the chance to talk to them. But they are still alive, that's for sure. I heard they are at a farm, working on the fields. At least they are above the ground'' the last thing he mumbled.

Mark felt his cheeks being wet, glad he was underground so no one could see him crying. He now realized his father wasn't coming back, he would never return from war. He had been killed by the Russian. He had no one left, his elder brothers far away and his younger brother and sister held hostage by a Spaniard. Mark had never felt so lonely.

A few days later, Ivan unlocked the door of the shack earlier than normal. Mark frowned lightly, not understanding what was happening. ''Marcos, get up'' Ivan snarled irritated. The teen got up from the ground, throwing his blanket in a corner. The Russian grabbed his upperarm and dragged him out, Mark almost stumbled over his feet.

He saw the other Northerns watch him with confusion. Mark was desperately trying to think of something he did wrong the last few days, maybe the Russian heared them talking about his family's escape. If that was the case, he was in big trouble. Ivan clearly wasn't happy about it, judging by his irritated voice and the time Mark had been waken up by him.

Mark was thinking of an excuse, some reason that could hold Ivan from beating him again. He had tried to avoid getting a beating as much as possible, especially after the beating when he asked about his family. Ivan continued pulling him across the path. The teen flinched lightly, scared of what was about to happen.

But Mark was taken to a carriage, infront of the gate of the mine estate. He got pushed in by Ivan, before the Russian got in the carriage himself and closed the door. Mark was confused, where were they going? Where they going to his brothers? Mark wished that was true. ''Ehm… where are we going?'' he asked softly, hoping Ivan would answer. '' заткнись!'' he just snarled back. Mark stared down at the bottom of the carriage. He was clearly not getting any answers from Ivan, but at least he wasn't getting beaten.

Mark was very tired, he had trouble staying awake. But the warm carriage wasn't making it easier for him. He had got used to the cold floor for the past months. But his eyes were closing bit by bit. He had to gain as much sleep as possible, before he would arrive at the fields. His dreams were restless, about his brothers. He would finally see them, after all this time!

He again woke when the carriage stopped. But it wasn't a field which was visible, it was a house. A country seat. He sighed in disappointment. He was back at Antonios house. But Mark was also happy, because he could already see Sebastiaan and Bell. Ivan walked straight to Antonio when he opened the door.

''I thought we had a deal, Antonio?'' Ivan snarled angrily at Antonio. ''Yeah…yeah… I'm sorry mi amigo. There were some problems'' Mark ignored the two and walked towards his siblings, sinking down on one knee to hug his little brother, glad he saw them again. Bell looked at the scar over his eye with suspicion, Miguel had refused to tell her anything about what was in the letter. When Mark noticed her staring, he turned his head away. His scarf was still around his neck, hiding the scar over his throat.

''Because of your problems, I'm losing a hard worker. This was not what we agreed on, Antonio. Finally he was listening and then you call him back'' Antonio sighed deeply and reached for his pocket, getting out something. ''Here, this will pay for the remaining weeks.'' The Spaniard said to the Russian, while giving him the money.

Mark glared at Antonio in anger. He still remembered who took them away from their home. But he kept quiet, as long as Ivan was still here. Bell asked where he had been for all this time, but Mark refused to tell her. He didn't want to be reminded of the mine. The mine, where his new friends still were. Why did everything had to be so difficult? He had to escape with his siblings from Antonio's house and that was already a huge problem. Second of all, he had to find out where his brothers were and get them free too. If Ivan sent them away, the place they had to be now had to be even worse than the mine.

''Gilbert and Ludwig are still alive'' he whispered in Bells ear. A surprised and confused expression appeared on her face. ''What? How? What?'' she said stuttering. ''They are alive? How do you know that? Have you seen them? What about vader?'' Mark bit on his tongue, what did he had to tell Bell and Sebastiaan about their father? ''I…haven't heared anything about him. I haven't seen Ludwig and Gilbert but I have met people who know they are still alive''

Sebastiaan tugged on his scarf. ''Why are you wearing a scarf?'' he asked curious. Antonio turned to them, while Ivan left, still a bit grumpy. The Spaniard walked towards Mark. The teen glared at him, letting go of his little brother and standing up straight. After all he had been through, he wasn't scared of Antonio any more. Nor mad at him, no, he was furious! But he had to keep his cover up, even more determined to escape and find his brothers. Antonio was surely not going to keep him from that.

Antonio opened his mouth, a bit hesitating. What could he possibly say to Mark? He sent him to a mine, to hell. ''Erhm… welcome back'' he said finally, not looking the teen in the eyes. Mark glared angry at him, angry because Antonio was capable to sent him to a mine but not able to look him in the eyes when he had to answer for it. ''Coward…'' he growled at him, softly so only Antonio could hear him. Mark picked up Sebastiaan and walked away, making clear this was the end of the conversation. Bell looked at them in confusion, while standing next to Antonio.

''Where was Mark all that time?'' she asked, tilting her head. Antonio took a while to answer. ''Somewhere'' he tried to avoid giving a proper answer.

''How did you even survive in that mine?'' Miguel asked the next day in the backgarden. '' Because of your rebellious personality, it is a miracle!'' Mark looked up from the strawberries. ''Well, it didn't go really well at the beginning. But eventually I managed to stay out of troubles'' Mark plucked the fruit and put it in a reed basket. ''And why are you wearing that scarf? It's way too hot to wear a piece of cloth around your neck.''

Mark bit his lip, he didn't want to concern Miguel about the past. But when Miguel kept asking, he pulled the scarf down, revealing the scar. Mark had succeeded in keeping the coal dust out of his wounds except for this one. Because the dust could reach his throat far more easy than the wounds on his back. This the scar had a black shade over it from the dust, it would probably never fade away. ''Bell and Sebastiaan don't know and I don't want them to know.''

Miguel nodded understanding. ''But how long are you going to keep up with that?'' he asked. ''One moment of unawareness and they will notice.'' Mark sighed softly and put the basket in the grass. ''Yes, I know. And for that I can't make a mistake.''

Antonio didn't show up for dinner that evening. Only Romano was giving him angry glares, eating slowly. Mark wasn't even seeing them, eating quickly. At the mine, the food had been scarce and what they got wasn't really nutritious. Bell got up from her seat to bring Antonio a plate in his study. When the door behind her was closed, Mark started talking to his little brother in his native language. ''Ik wil niet dat je ooit nog met Romano speelt, begrepen? Hij is net zo'n monster als Antonio''

Sebastiaan played with his food, not happy with what Mark was saying but also knowing Mark wouldn't let him another choice. ''What are you saying, bastardo? I heared my name!'' Romano snarled furious. Mark glanced at him and pushed his chair back, standing up and walking towards him. Romano was getting nervous, moving around and glaring furious.

Mark leaned over, grabbing the handrails of the chair. ''You are going to shut up and stay away from my brother. If you dare insulting me one more time…'' he threatened with a calm voice before letting go and sitting back in his chair. ''I'm going to tell Antonio that you threatened me!'' Romano shouted angry and a bit scared. ''I don't care, go ahead'' Mark said grinning. ''Little Romano can't handle thing on his own. Immediately run back to your cousin Antonio''

Romano grumbled, his nails pinning into the handrails. He didn't know what to do, tell Antonio and be a coward or don't tell him. He finally decided to do nothing. It took a while before Bell returned. Mark frowned and looked up when he heared the door opening. ''Why were you gone for so long? The study isn't that far away'' Bell blushed lightly and picked up the plates from the table. ''Ehrm… because… he wasn't there and I first had to look for him''

Mark put down his fork on the plate. ''Blijf bij hem uit de buurt…'' he warned her. ''He's up to no good'' Bell dropped the plates in the sink, it made a terrible lot of noise. ''How do you know? You don't even know him! He is…'' Mark lifted an eyebrow, looking at her. ''Nevermind…'' she continued, looking away and starting the dishes.

The teen wandered around the dark garden, looking for routes. Things had been moved in the time he was gone, some were against the wall, which they could climb over. But there was still the problem of barbed wire. Mark had to steal a wire cutter to get rid of those. When he looked over his shoulder, he saw the light in the study still on. Antonio wouldn't notice their escape until the morning after. But first Mark needed a plan. He saw the perfect route behind the carnations.

They wouldn't be spotted easily, because of the flowers and because it was in the corner of the garden. Mark only needed to hide a wire cutter and a few crates to climb on, to reach the wall.

It wasn't until a few days later when Mark found out that Bell didn't mind about his warnings.


End file.
